Considering the sensitive nature of the Uri attacks, any reportage around the issue has to tread the fine line of stating facts and developments in relation to the attacks without being jingoistic or sensational. The Quint, on Thursday morning, didn’t tread lightly when they published the contentious story titled ‘Exclusive: Uri Avenged As Spl Forces Cross LoC, Kill 20 Terrorists’.

The story in question reports that the Indian Army conducted a ‘daring cross-LoC operation’ where at least 20 terrorists have been neutralised. The story, which is dangerously light on official quotes and vague on its sources claims that “two units of the elite two Paras comprising 18-20 soldiers flew across the LoC in the Uri sector in military helicopters and carried out an operation that killed at least 20 suspected terrorists across three terror camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).”

The story sparked a debate as soon as it was published on the site’s social media pages. The Twitterati wondered how no other news source could get such sensitive information and questioned the veracity and timing of the story.

@TheQuint No other media is reporting this, except you .. How can be believe on its authenticity?? Stop spreading the fake news

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah also expressed surprise in a series of tweets against the piece by The Quint.

https://twitter.com/abdullah_omar/status/778845812201705472

https://twitter.com/abdullah_omar/status/778846141634916353

https://twitter.com/abdullah_omar/status/778846458824896512

https://twitter.com/abdullah_omar/status/778847428908752896

Following the immediate and rampant backlash, The Quint added that they would reconfirm the ‘information of the story’. Just an hour after publishing the story, the site asserted that they reconfirmed information about the cross-LoC operation.

A number of journalists and army experts bashed the story and the way the controversy was dealt with.
Veteran journalist Nitin Gokhale deemed the story as ‘nonsense’.

Senior Fellow at Royal United Services Institute, Shashank Joshi questioned Aroor, saying that covert operations can and has been covered by the global media. But he added that considering how the story was reported not even a day after the alleged military operation, he reconsidered the fact that the story could in fact endanger lives.

@shivaroor Oh fair enough, agree. No need to endanger lives when there’s no downside to waiting a day or two.